Day 14, Sunday, May 10, 2009: Horton to Old Sodbury

This was a perfect Sabbath day. Liz Issac from the B&B drove us into Yate for Church meetings that started at 10:00 a.m. We met Bishop X as we entered the building and several of the members. The Yate Ward begins the meeting block with Priesthood and Relief Society meeting, followed by Sunday School and then Sacrament meeting. It is a small ward but very friendly. What impressed me about Priesthood meeting is that the seven High Priests in attendance (eight with me) had all read the Priesthood lesson prior to coming to the meeting. They were able to engage in the discussion of spiritual gifts in a much more meaningful way because everyone was prepared to be taught. I wish this happened more at home.

The Sunday School lesson and Sacrament meeting were two of the best meetings we have attended anywhere we have lived. We felt welcome and enjoyed everything about being at church meetings.

We met Mike Cheskin and his wife Evie who asked if we needed a ride anywhere and if we would like to come to their home for dinner. We were able to get a ride back to the B&B. We then changed our clothes and had a very lovely walk from Horton to Old Sodbury. It was only about a 4 mile walk and didn’t take very long. (Unfortunately we did not get any photos of Mike and Ivy.)


Along the way we saw the Little Sodbury Church. In 1521 William Tyndale lived in this village and began the translation of the New Testament into English here. We love a quote that Tyndale made a dinner at the manor house to a dignitary who protested Tyndale’s views. He responded by saying: “I defy the Pope and all his laws. If God will spare my life, ere many years I will cause the boy that follows the plough to know more of the Bible than thou doest.” What “boy that follows the plough” do we know who turned to the Bible to know God’s will?


We walked through the ancient Sodbury Hill Fort. There are 11 acres enclosed by ditches and was first constructed in the Iron Age. The Romans used it as one of their posts. Edward IV camped here with his army on the way to do battle with Margaret of Anjou at Tewkesbury.


We saw a fox running very quickly through a field as we crossed.

We called Mom to wish her a happy Mother’s Day. We reached her just before we left for Church.


The Cotswold Way path goes right through the churchyard of St. John the Baptist Church where we stopped as well. There were beautiful stained glass windows (as there are in most of the churches here). The church sits on a little hill overlooking Old Sodbury.


This B&B in Old Sodbury is very unique. We are staying in a little cabin behind the main house on the property. Greg recently retired as the gardener at the Chipping Sodbury Golf Club. He has a very well kept garden and yard. We wish we were staying here longer so that we could enjoy this little cabin.


Mike picked us up and drove us to his home. He owns two gas stations in the area. He and his wife Evie have a beautiful place. Their ward has a little pond and they attract wild life. They have a bird feeder that attracts mallard ducks, pheasants, and doves. Just over a little rise in their yard are the train tracks. We actually rode right past this place when we took the train from Bristol to Cheltenham. Mike is a train enthusiast so loves to run up the hill to watch the trains pass. They have a little sitting area where they can enjoy the view of the passing trains.

We enjoyed a wonderful meal and conversation. We asked them about their children and conversion stories. They asked us about ours. It was a wonderful way to spend the day.